Specialists given council seats

The first tranche of specialist practitioner seats on the Law Society Council were approved last week amid discussion over allocation of seats to family lawyers and extra seats for local government and solo lawyers.

Among the 11 new seats recommended by the council membership committee and approved by council was one for the Association of Women Solicitors, ending a long battle over whether women lawyers should have specific representation.The other ten to join the soon-to-be-expanded council of 105 members are: one each for residential and commercial conveyancing, as well as for the Law Society's probate and law management sections; the Forum of Insurance Lawyers; Association of Personal Injury Lawyers; Legal Aid Practitioners Group; Group for Solicitors with Disabilities; Employment Lawyers Association; and Government Legal Service.However, plans to give seats to both the Law Society's family law and children panels were thrown into confusion when Angus Andrew (west London) called for the family panel's seat to be allocated to the Solicitors Family Law Association (SFLA), which has 5,000 members and is the largest non-Law Society solicitors group.

The SFLA has yet to make a formal application for a seat.Speaking after the council decided to refer back the question of all family seats to the committee, SFLA chairwoman Rosemary Carter said: 'If special interest groups are going to have a more direct say in what happens, it would be very strange if the SFLA wasn't one of them.' Meanwhile, the Local Government Group and Sole Practitioners Group (SPG) expressed disappointment after the council accepted an amendment from Robin Ap Cynan (The Welsh Marches) - who questioned groups having two seats on principle - to send back their second seats for reconsideration.

SPG chairman Ian Lithman said the group needed two seats to represent members properly.

The Local Government Group had a second seat before it was allocated to newly qualified solicitors.

Chairman Nigel Roberts said his group would be 'outraged if the seat was snaffled again'.In total, 23 groups applied.

Among those denied by the council membership committee were the Lesbian and Gay Lawyers Association, the London Solicitors Litigation Association, and the Solicitors Pro Bono Group.

However, the Insolvency Lawyers Association and Environmental Law Association were given hope of securing seats in later rounds.Neil Rose